Saturday, 26 March 2011

Always Behind The Curve…

A group of US senators has asked smart phone firms to cease distributing apps said to enable drivers who have been drinking to avoid police checkpoints.

Wow! There really IS an app for that! How does it work, then?

The applications are said to enable users to alert one another to locations where police are stopping motorists.

The senators said the apps put innocent people at risk and asked the companies to remove them from online stores.

Ah. Right.

So if these apps are withdrawn, they’ll just have to go back to using other methods. Like Twitter hashtags.

"Giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of public concern," Senators Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Harry Reid of Nevada, Charles Schumer of New York and Tom Udall of New Mexico wrote.

The companies don’t seem inclined to agree, however:

A Google spokesman noted that the letter did not name specific apps but said, based on the senators' descriptions, that they did not appear to violate the company's content policies.

2 comments:

Mjolinir
said...

Sounds a bit like that concept that putting up (official) signs warning of 'police speed cameras' or saying 'Slow down' assists road safety - even when you have to look away from the road to read them. But 'flashing' a car you think is speeding is V Naughty - they might slow down and give the camera operator nothing to do.